


that horse is way too high for you

by simplystefanie_rae



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, a fic born of pure spite, also chloe is only mentioned at the moment, and the rest of the class - Freeform, ml season 2 spoilers, who's roles are not as big
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-06-16 05:19:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15429855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplystefanie_rae/pseuds/simplystefanie_rae
Summary: Heavy spoilers for the upcoming episode Malediktator.When reprieve for the students of Françoise Dupont High School comes in the form of Chloé Bourgeois packing her bags and leaving the country for good, Marinette's class is more than ready to celebrate her upcoming departure. But not everyone is happy about it, and Adrien's seems determined to have his friends see that Chloé has her own worth, however small. But the class has their own opinions, and they're just as determined to be heard.





	that horse is way too high for you

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place during Malediktator, directly after the script scene where Adrien leaves after seeing everyone celebrate that Chloe is leaving the country. Obviously I have a lot of opinions about all of this, the biggest one being that Adrien is being very judgmental and inconsiderate of his classmates. I wouldn't care so much about it if the scene was criticizing how ignorant he was coming off, but considering the scene has Marinette apologizing to him and feeling bad about it... yeah. Anyway, I'm not much of a writer, but I try. And when there's this much spite, there needs to be a better outlet than just complaining about it. So here we are. Enjoy!

_“She left angry and unhappy. I can’t celebrate that.”_

_“I’m really sorry, Adrien.”_

Marinette’s apology was met with silence, so she wrung her hands together nervously as she waited for any kind of reply. But he kept walking towards the exit of the class, shoulders slumped pitifully. She felt conflicted knowing she couldn’t pretend Chloé leaving didn’t make her a euphoric mix of happy and relieved, so was she really sorry at all? Part of her wondered if that made her a bad person as she struggled to reach the meaning of Adrien’s words to find value in them, but the rest kept reminding her of the nasty comments, the vicious pranks, how all the chances she gave Chloé was met with a lukewarm effort at best, and falling back into her bad habits at worst. 

Still, upsetting Adrien wasn’t something she wanted. She made to go after him before he got too far out of the classroom when Alix loudly called out to him;

“How’s the view from up on your high horse there, blondie?”

The excited chatter in the room came to a halt, as did Adrien. He turned around and stared at Alix, looking annoyed, bordering on angry. It was a look Marinette couldn’t remember ever seeing on his face. 

“What is that suppose to mean?” he demanded. Marinette took a step out of the way as he calmly walked back into class towards their group. Too calmly. Marinette felt the tension in the air thicken like molasses and she immediately wanted to intervene, her need to keep the peace between her classmates outweighing the conflict in her heart over this whole situation. 

“Guys, come on,” Marinette all but pleaded, gesturing for them to calm down.

“Sorry class prez,” Alix spat, “but I think this needs to be said.” She stood to her whole height, which wasn’t a whole lot, but the glare from her sharp blue eyes sure did add an extra foot to her short stature. Adrien clearly wasn’t intimidated though, and returned her glare with one of his own.

“What needs to be said?” he asked, voice wavering only a little. Maybe in anger, but as Marinette really looked at him she could see that he was confused more than anything, like he really didn’t know what was wrong. “I didn’t do anything.” 

Alix scoffed. “It’s not about what you did or didn’t do. Actually, it’s not about _you_ at all, and that’s the point.” 

By now all attention was on Adrien and Alix. Some murmuring in agreement was happening after what Alix said, and Marinette was worried how ugly this could potentially turn out if everyone decided to put in their two cents. Chloé was a sensitive topic for people on most days, but her departure left a freedom for everyone to finally voice their frustrations as much as they wanted to, and it looked like Adrien was going to bear the brunt of it if things continued this way. Marinette just hoped that, for his sake, he didn’t say the wrong thing.

“I never said this was about me!” Adrien said incredulously. “It’s about Chloé, and how unfair to her that she’s leaving this way.” 

Marinette winced. It was like his words injected the class with a vicious form of life, and suddenly nearly everyone was weighing in. Alix threw her hands out in frustration before rolling her sleeves up as if she was buckling down for a grueling showdown, Nathaniel could be heard sputtering ‘Unfair? _Unfair?’_ , Kim, who’s always had a soft spot for Chloé, made his way up to the front of the class to start ranting to Adrien about what she did to him on Valentine’s Day last year, and Marinette could have sworn she heard Juleka murmur from behind her that Adrien was being… well, it was time to intervene by then. Adrien was starting to look overwhelmed by the sudden animosity being directed at him, like a trapped animal unable to defend itself, and while Marinette knew her class had all the reason in the world to be this upset, she knew Adrien just didn’t understand. 

“Alright, that’s enough!” Marinette shouted, which did the trick. Shouting wasn’t something she did often at anyone who’s name wasn’t Chloé, so to hear her voice be raised this much must have shocked a silence over the class. “ _Enough_. Ms. Bustier’s going to be here soon, and I don’t want things to get out of hand!”

“You mean like how things got yesterday?” Adrien snapped. 

Marinette blinked, not sure she was hearing right. Biting her lip, she turned to the blonde, hurt at the sting of his words, even if she was confused by them. He was never this angry with anyone before, let alone her. “I-I’m not sure what you mean.” 

“You’re the class president, you never hesitated to stop a fight before,” Adrien pointed out to her. “Everyone was ganging up on Chloé yesterday and you didn’t say anything to stop it!”

Marinette could only gape at the accusation as she willed her eyes not to get watery. She felt a mix of emotions at his proverbial pointed finger well up, threatening to come to the surface in a release of anger and hurt, but she didn’t get a chance to do anything before Alya was pushing her behind her protectively. 

“It’s not her job to and you know it, Adrien,” Alya growled. “The teacher was there, blame them for not shutting us up right away, not her.” 

Adrien looked like he wanted to argue, but the fight was starting to leave the more his friends stood against him and he deflated some. He shifted his eyes away from Alya, expression caught between frustration and desperation, though for what Marinette couldn’t figure out, and at the moment she really didn’t care. She did catch his eyes then, and it at least made her feel better that his scowl softened in what looked like regret.

“Or blame no one, since Ms. Rich and Terrible basically had it coming,” Alix chimed in with an eye roll. “Chloé’s being dramatic anyway, as usual. So we called her out on not knowing Ladybug for real, so what? She’s done plenty worse, you don’t see us leaving the country for it.”

Adrien gritted his teeth. “But-”

“Quite a few people did leave this school because of her though,” Mylène pointed out hesitantly. Adrien directed his attention to her and for once, Mylène shrugged instead of cowering under the pressure of being put on the spot. “It’s true.”

“Look, guys, I know she’s a lot to handle, and can be downright _mean_ , I know!” Adrien relented, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “But that doesn’t make ganging up on her right, and it’s not nice to just so easily write someone off and be happy that they’re gone, it’s just not!”

Alya shook her head in pity. “You’re really not getting it.” 

“Not getting what?” he exclaimed. “I don’t understand, she’s been getting better. It wasn’t perfect, I get that. But doesn’t it count for something that she tries?” 

“Just last week Chloé laughed at my drawings and said Ladybug would never care about ‘someone like me’,” Nathaniel said with a scoff. “How is that trying?”

Adrien winced. “Okay, so she needs some work. A lot of work, but compared to how she was, I know she can do better. She was really sorry about not getting Ms. Bustier a gift, remember?”

“Of course she was,” Marinette found herself saying. “Chloé actually _likes_ her.” 

The blonde looked over at her in surprise. “Marinette…?”

She took a steadying breath. “She’s only really nice to the people she likes. It was my gift to Ms. Bustier she destroyed, but she never apologized to me for that, even after I told her I was sorry for saying she didn’t have a heart. She looked at me like she was just… confused or something.” She held her arm nervously and looked at her feet. “Sorry.” 

Marinette winced as Alix nudged her in the ribs. “Stop apologizing to him, will you? You have nothing to be sorry for! Besides, I think you’re giving Chloé too much credit there, considering how she treats her own best friend.”

The room was once again quiet, and the atmosphere felt deeply awkward. The class collectively turned to Sabrina slowly, probably to see her reaction, mostly because Marinette had a feeling that everyone forgot she was even there, including her. She felt guilty. If ever there was someone who had a right to say something, for or against Chloé, it was Sabrina, but she’s been quiet this entire time just as she was right now, sitting in her seat, not really looking around at anything except her own lap. 

“Sabrina?” Adrien tried hesitantly to get her attention, and when she looked up at him he continued. “Are you… okay with Chloé leaving?”

“Is she really the right person to ask?” Max asked, crossing his arms. 

“Seriously,” Kim barked out an incredulous laugh. “Sabrina’s basically her slave.”

“Kim!” Marinette snapped. She felt so on edge right now, it would only take the wrong words to make everything implode even more than it already was. “Don’t make things worse.”

“I’m just saying the truth,” he muttered. 

“Well keep it to yourself next time,” Adrien said sternly, sounding just as on edge as Marinette felt. He turned back to Sabrina with sympathy and tried again. “I don’t mean to hound you, Sabrina. I just know Chloé means a lot to you, and I know she’s been getting at least a little better. How do you feel about all of this?”

“I feel,” Sabrina started, voice unsteady. She looked back down at her lap, and her hair hung over her eyes in an orange curtain, shielding whatever she was feeling from view. “I think that…”

“Just spit it out!” Alix snapped with impatience. 

Suddenly Sabrina snapped up from her chair and she grabbed her things in a hurry. “I’m sorry, but I don’t really don’t know what to think about her going away, it’s all so confusing. S-sorry!” As her hair lifted back during her whirlwind dash to collect her books and shove them in her bag, Marinette could see the girls face finally, and it was twisted with a myriad of emotions Marinette couldn’t full decipher, but it was clear anxiety was rolling off her in waves. It could have been for a number of reasons, but she suspected it was more complicated than simply being sad her friend was leaving. 

“Sabrina, hold on,” Adrien tried again, this time making his way to her and reaching out, but she was done packing up by then and dodged his hand. 

“Sorry,” she apologized again. Her eyes were misty. “I really just want to go home right now, excuse me.” With those parting words she quickly hurried out of the class, leaving everyone in yet another awkward silence. Marinette was beginning to get sick of it. 

“Adrien,” she said hesitantly. When he turned to her he looked downright miserable, but with a stubborn edge that let her know he was still going to try and make people see his point of view. But Marinette, however she felt about all of this, knew it was a lost cause. She knew her classmates, she understood their pain, and nothing Adrien was going to say would change their minds “Please don’t be mad, but I think you need to let it go.”

“Let it go?” Adrien asked, his voice once again on the edge of anger. “I can’t just accept that everyone hates her and are willing to give up on her, she’s still my friend and-”

“Adrien,” Marinette interrupted, trying to be patient. “She’s your friend, not ours. She’s never wanted to be our friend and she barely makes an effort to try. You can’t blame others for being okay with her leaving.”

“You all weren’t just ‘okay’ about this, you were 10 seconds away from throwing a party!” Adrien ran a frustrated hand through his hair and looked at her pleadingly. “Marinette, if anyone would understand it’d be you. You’re _kind_ , you see the good and value in others and you’ve been nice to Chloé before. Do you really want her to leave like this?”

All this praise from Adrien any other day would have sent Marinette straight to the moon and back, but now it felt like a test, like judgement, and she felt sick as a result. She knew Adrien; this wasn’t pressure on his part, he wasn’t zeroing in and taking advantage of her kindness to make things go his way. She could see the honesty of it in his eyes, that he really thought they would have common ground because he thought so highly of her, and it made her sad that she would have to disappoint him, but she hated lying. She couldn’t lie to him, not even about this, not even to make him feel like he was right. More than anything, Marinette felt she had a right to stand up for herself, and the rest of her classmates gave her courage to do so. Marinette steeled herself, willed her mouth not to stutter, and looked him in the eye.

“I never expected her to leave,” she started slowly. “It’s not something I ever wanted before because I never thought about it even being an option. But Adrien, when I first found out this morning that Chloé was leaving the only thing I could really feel was relief. Doesn’t that tell you anything?” He didn’t answer. That made her more nervous than if he continued snapping at people, but she continued on. “I’m not happy that she’s upset, but… I am glad she’s leaving, despite how she’s feeling right now. There’s so much bad history between us, please try and understand?” There. Marinette met his plea with one of her own, and she really hoped it reached him. 

Adrien continued to look at her, almost quizzically, like a puzzle to be figured out. She momentarily forgot the rest of her class was even here, as quiet as they were, but the tension between everyone was more palpable than ever. Marinette swallowed thickly. She really didn’t like fighting with anyone, let alone Adrien, but the look he was giving her right now made her heart sink. He looked betrayed. 

“I figured you’d be on my side with this at least,” Adrien said, sounding hurt. 

Marinette reached out to hold his arm comfortingly, if not a bit awkwardly. “I-It’s not about taking sides, this is just complicated for everyone.”

“Hm, not for me,” Alix cut in as she examined her nails in boredom. “I know _exactly_ how I feel about the situation.”

Marinette ignored her, trying in any small way to fix things. “You just don’t get where we’re coming from, and that’s okay! I’m sure we can all come to an understanding here if we all talk it out.”

“I don’t want to talk it out,” Adrien mumbled. His eyes were overcast in defeat, and he was trembling ever so slightly, probably from nerves. Marinette wondered if he ever dealt with confrontation at this magnitude before, but before she could really do anything with that thought he pulled his arm from Marinette’s grasp and backed up, looking at her weirdly. “I really thought there were no limits to your kindness.”

The class was stunned in silence, all except for Rose’s quiet gasp in surprise and Ivan muttering ‘wow, that’s weak’ as he wrapped his arms around protectively Mylène, who wasn’t handling the fighting from everyone very well judging by how uncomfortable she was beginning to look. Marinette couldn’t blame her, she never wanted out of a situation so badly before. Even Adrien looked like he suddenly wanted to disappear, that he couldn’t believe what he just said.

“What the _hell_ , Adrien!” Alya snarled, getting up in his face. “How can you say that about her?”

Adrien backed up just a fraction away from the aspiring reporter and held his hands up in defense. “I-I didn’t mean-” he cut off sharply, eyes shifting towards Marinette, and looked at her desperately. “Marinette, I didn’t mean it that way, just let me explain-”

“In what other way could you possibly mean?” Alya interrupted incredulously.

It seemed the spark was relit, and once again the other students were loud and angry, but it hardly registered with Marinette as Adrien’s words began to sink in. That was twice now that he hurt her, and she could make all the excuses for him that she wanted to; that he was confused, upset, desperate and not thinking straight because he kept getting ganged up on, but she was upset too and he didn’t seem to want to see that. For the first time since he offered her his umbrella in a display of vulnerability and honesty she always cherished , she was angry at Adrien. So, so angry and hurt, by such a simple remark. Marinette looked down at her feet since her eyes were watering up for real this time, and quietly took herself away from the situation to collect her things and step out to the bathroom. 

“Okay, wait, everyone _shut up!_ ” 

Startled, Marinette looked up from her school bag to see Nino, who’s been oddly silent and hanging back the entire time, push his way to the front of the class.

Alya cocked her hip and backed away from Adrien. “Nice of you to join us.”

“Man, this whole thing is such a mess,” Nino complained while rubbing his head. “I tried to stay out of this, I really did, but I can’t let my best bro be murdered by my girlfriend.” Before Adrien could so much as smile in relief at his friend, Nino glared at the blonde and grabbed his hand, forcing him away. 

“Let’s go outside,” Nino suggested without giving him an opportunity to resist. “We need to have a looooong talk before you lose your _other_ friends too.”

**Author's Note:**

> In my google docs i have this titled 'Adrien you utter bafoon', but it's titled with love. And I'm unsure how many chapters this will be but I'm shooting for 3. 
> 
> Also posted to my tumblr, simplystefanie-rae.tumblr.com


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